1. FC Union Berlin’s men’s team will travel to play Borussia Mönchengladbach this coming Saturday, 28 September 2024. Kick off at Borussia-Park is at 15:30.

The lie of the land

The team from the Lower Rhine are keen to end a seven-month run without a home win. So far this season, they have suffered defeats at Borussia-Park to both the champions, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, and the runners-up, VfB Stuttgart. Their only success so far has come away from home against VfL Bochum (2-0). Last weekend, Gerardo Seoane's team lost 2-0 at SG Eintracht Frankfurt.

Union, on the other hand, have so far taken six out of a possible six points at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei while earning a point each on the road in Mainz (1-1) and Leipzig (0-0). What's more, Union are undefeated in eight games against Gladbach, with five wins and three draws.

The opponents

A glance at the table implies that Borussia, in 14th place, have not had an ideal start to the season. However, this is tempered by the fact that they have faced strong opponents in their first few fixtures. In addition to the home games against Leverkusen and Stuttgart, they also played away against SG Eintracht Frankfurt – all teams with supposedly loftier ambitions.

Pre-season, on the other hand, was promising for the five-time German champions with six wins from six friendlies, and Gladbach also progressed confidently into the next round of the DFB Pokal with a 3-1 win against Erzgebirge Aue.

The new signings, who have immediately integrated into the team, have played a major role in this. Tim Kleindienst is not only impressing with the highest number of sprints and intensive runs in the league, but also as Borussia's top scorer so far with two goals and one assist. Kevin Stöger, too, has contributed two assists so far, and has thus been involved in almost half of the five goals that the team has scored in the league.

The personnel

Union's head coach Bo Svensson is still unable to call on the injured Kevin Volland, Josip Juranović and Yannic Stein for the matchday squad. Ivan Prtajin is also out as he recovers from injury.

The reunions

Former Union centre-back Marvin Friedrich has been wearing the black, white and green jersey since January 2022. He previously spent three and a half years in Köpenick and played a key role in the club's promotion season of 2018/19, when he played all 34 second division games and scored the important equalising goal in the 2-2 first-leg result against VfB Stuttgart in the relegation play-off.

Moritz Nicolas, goalkeeper for Borussia Mönchengladbach, played one Bundesliga game for Union in the 2019/20 season. Last season, the keeper kept four clean sheets in 27 competitive appearances.

Jordan Siebatcheu was also on loan at the Niederrhein club last season, appearing in 27 matches for the Foals, playing a part in 11 goals.

Borussia Mönchengladbach were László Bénes’ first club in Germany. The then 19-year-old joined the club from the Slovakian first division and made 65 appearances.

Finally, Union's head coach Bo Svensson has a past with the team from the Lower Rhine region. Svensson played in Mönchengladbach, having come straight from Denmark, between January 2006 and June 2007. Before moving to 1. FSV Mainz 05, he played 33 competitive games and scored two goals.

The coaches’ views on the game

“We'll go into the game on Saturday with a tailwind from our last home win,” said Svensson, during his press conference on Thursday afternoon. “But we have to keep going and not underestimate the difficult task in Mönchengladbach. They had a demanding opening programme and did really well in those games. They also strengthened their squad over the summer with the signings of Kevin Stöger and Tim Kleindienst, who are two top-quality offensive players.”

His opposite number, Gerardo Seoane, meanwhile had this to say of the challenge his side will face on Saturday: “Union close down space well and transition quickly. We have to avoid making mistakes in phases of possession, and in attack we have to find solutions down the flanks and in the spaces in between. Set-pieces will also play an important role in this game. Union have a well-drilled team that only allows a few chances in defence. We face a big task.”

Service information

More than 3,000 Union fans will travel to Mönchengladbach for the away game in the Rhineland. The Union mobile Zeughaus will also be there. Information on visiting the stadium can be found here (German)

The game will be broadcast live on Sky. There will also be an audio stream on rbb24 Inforadio and on rbb24. As usual, Union will also provide information on the game via the club's own live ticker, as well as on Twitter in English and Spanish.